ahm, a private health insurance company, developed a branding and marketing strategy called "The Simple Bit" to position itself as simplifying the complexities of private health insurance. The strategy uses simple graphics and messaging to build a long-term brand platform celebrating the power of simplicity. Initial consumer feedback to the campaign has been positive. The Simple Bit framework has been integrated across the business in communications, design, and customer service. As a result, in the 2019 fiscal year ahm was one of the fastest growing health insurers in Australia. Moving forward, ahm plans to further push The Simple Bit strategy across more areas of the business like content, customer experience, sponsorships, and products.

1. How ahm harnessed bold simplicity in a complex market
Amanda Romeo, Head of Marketing, ahm
Simon Lamplough, Deputy CEO, Clemenger BBDO Melbourne

2. Is Private Health Insurance worth it?

3. Why we exist
Liberating Australians from the complexity of private health insurance

4. Today
How ahm harnessed bold simplicity in a complex market

5. ahm is a 40 year-old start-up

6. Our role in the Medibank portfolio

7. Our target: Young Savvies

8. Our longer-term ambition
To build a brand for private health insurance and beyond

9. Our strategy

10. Our core insights
In the category Out of the category In life

11. In the category

12. Out of the category

13. In life

14. By the way it’s
built and regulated,
PHI is naturally
complex and confusing
Our core insights
A world where people
expect technology and
design can remove all
the complex bits
The complexity
of modern life is getting
in the way of our
Young Savvies
truly enjoying it
In the category Out of the category In life

15. By the way it’s
built and regulated,
PHI is naturally
complex and confusing
Our role
In the category Out of the category In life
In a life of complexity, ahm stands for simple
A world where people
expect technology and
design can remove all
the complex bits
The complexity
of modern life is getting
in the way of our
Young Savvies
truly enjoying it

16. The campaign

17. The challenge for communications
Build a long-term brand platform that celebrates the power of simplicity
and lifts us above the private health insurance category

21. OoH

22. OoH

23. Website

24. Internal comms

25. The Simple Bit unifies our core insights…
ahm is the simple bit
In the category Out of the category In life
By the way it’s
built and regulated,
PHI is naturally
complex and confusing
A world where people
expect technology and
design can remove all
the complex bits
The complexity
of modern life is getting
in the way of our
Young Savvies
truly enjoying it

26. … and is a consistent platform for the business to integrate around
‘Are we
communicating
this as simply
as we can?’
‘Do we feel this
is living up to ‘the
simple bit’?’
‘What’s ‘the simple
bit’ we are delivering
for our members?’
In comms In design In service

27. Results

28. The business has got behind the idea

29. The feedback from consumers has been positive
“It’s great… Really stands out as
unique. You know it’s ahm”
“I love it. It humanises & makes
relatable a very boring topic: health
insurance.”
“By using simple line drawings it
grabs your attention in a world that
is full of noise.”
“Not your average
insurance campaign”

30. And it’s translated into sales
In FY19, ahm was one of the fastest growing health insurers in Australia

31. What’s next?

32. Pushing The Simple Bit even further
Content
Brand experience
Sponsorship
Service
Product
The Simple Bit

33. Thank you